Army ranking and size question

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So I'm watching Band of Brothers, and I'm utterly confused...

First, there are the rankings..

PFS, I know is Private First Class..

And that's about all I know...

I know a Kernel is high up.. But I have no clue where Lt's, Majors, First Sergent Majors, Corporals etc... Who's who, who's bigger, etc..

And it keep it "gun related" I see in the movies, that different ranking people seem to carry different guns?? Also, in Saving Private Ryan, I noticed Hanks carried a Thompson.. I assumed that has something to do with rank also?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part Two:

I have no idea how big a squad, Platoon, Company etc.. is.. I hope someone will enlighten me the difference between a Batallion vs a Platoon etc..
 
From the bottom:

Private
Private first class
Corporal/Specialist
Sergeant
Staff sergeant
Sergeant first class
Master sergeant/First sergeant
Sergeant Major/Command sergeant major

2nd Leutenant
1st Leutenant
Captain
Major
Lt. Colonel
Colonel
Brigadier general (1 star)
Major general (2 stars)
Leutenant general (3 stars)
General (4 stars)
General of the Army (5 stars - not awarded anymore)

It depends on the type of unit for the various sizes. I've got to run out to a kids soccer game but I'm sure that someone will be along momentarily to give you the answer ;) .

Greg
 
Unit sizes: (for sake of ease, I'm using Infantry as a basis)

Fire Team: 4 people (Team leader, rifleman, grenadier and automatic rifleman) - led by a Sergeant
Squad: 9 people; 2 teams plus a squad leader - led by a Staff Sergeant
Platoon: 3-4 squads plus a headquarters element - led by a 2 LT
Company: 3-4 platoons plus a headquarters element - commanded by a Captain
Battalion: 3-4 companies plus a headquarters company - commanded by a Lt. Col.
Brigade: 3-4 Battalions plus a headquarters company - commanded by a COL, unless it's a seperate Brigade, that is, not part of a Division; then it is commanded by a Brigadier General
Regiment: roughly the same as a Brigade, although usually not part of a Division - usually commanded by a Brigadier General
Division: 3-4 Infantry/Armor Brigades, an Artillery Brigade, an Aviation Brigade, a Support Brigade and various other smaller units plus a headquarters company - commanded by a Major General
Corps: 2-4 Divisions plus additional supporting units - commanded by a Lt. General
Army: 1-3 Corps plus additional supporting units - commanded by a General
Major Command (Central Command, Southern Command, Special Operations Command): A Joint Operation, that is, made up of Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine assets unified under one commander, responsible for a specific region of the world, or mission. - Commanded by a General

Hope that helps.

However, during WW2, Infantry squads were larger, consisting of 11 people, IIRC. Also,the enlisted rank structure has changed a bit since then. The example Greg L gave is the current one, although he forgot to include the Warrant Officer ranks, which are: Warrant Officer (WO-1), Chief Warrant Officer -2 (CWO-2), CWO-3, CWO-4 and CWO-5.

Frank
 
It'll take me some time to memorize this.. hope there's no quiz on it on Thursday :uhoh:

But thanks for clearing all that up!
 
Not exactly right . . .

What Greg L posted is correct now, but in WW II there were only seven – not nine – enlisted grades (the nine enlisted grade structure was authorized around 1960). In the US Army prior to that – and including WW II – the enlisted ranks were (see http://www2.powercom.net/~rokats/wwii_era.html for more information):
Private
PFC
Corporal
Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Platoon or Technical Sergeant
First or Master Sergeant

In addition, the “T†below the chevrons indicated “Technicalâ€, roughly the equivalent of today’s Specialist designation.
 
Greg has it right but didn't mention that there are actually 2 ranks of privates. The lowest rank is an E-1 with no stripe. Then there is an E-2 with 1 stripe. Both are called privates though.
 
And generally speaking during WW2 officers carried carbines or Thompsons as their primary job is not to fight, but to direct the troops (so give them a short range weapon) though of course this is not always the case (Winters has an M1 Garand the whole time) and some sergeants got carbines or Thompsons, depending on the unit. Some enlisted guys could get them too, depending on what their job was (Cobb has an M3 grease gun) say in tanks, the crew gets SMGs and pistols, etc.
 
The example Greg L gave is the current one, although he forgot to include the Warrant Officer ranks, which are: Warrant Officer (WO-1), Chief Warrant Officer -2 (CWO-2), CWO-3, CWO-4 and CWO-5.
Click to expand...

I didn't forget them. The techie types (non flying), at least at the 3-5 level, are one step below God. I figured that it would be sacrilegious to mention them :D .

(I should have stayed here & cleaned up my list instead of worrying about getting to the game. It was a blowout :rolleyes: )
 
Ranks

Perhaps some of you can answer a question I have had for some time, and even those I know in the military don't have an answer for.

2nd Leutenant
1st Leutenant
Captain
Major
Lt. Colonel
Colonel
Brigadier general (1 star)
Major general (2 stars)
Leutenant general (3 stars)
General (4 stars)
General of the Army (5 stars - not awarded anymore)

You can see in the lower officer ranks, a Lieutenant is a lower rank than Major,
but when you get up to Flag rank, a Major General is LOWER than a Lieutenant General.

Does any one know what the logic in this was?
 
If you are looking for logic in the military, particularly the admin side, then look for a corner in a round barn :eek:

If you really want to get confused, try Navy rank :what: I can never keep the Navy rank straight ( Leutenant is same as Lt. Col.?, Commander is same as Col.?))

And Frank pretty much laid it out, although I didagree with a few things :uhoh:

A platoon is not lead by a Lt. The Lt. has rank, but the Platoon Sgt. really runs things. :uhoh:
 
My rank is Specialist: E-4. Rank insignia is an upside-down teardrop looking thing. Same pay grade as a Corporal, but in Today's Army(tm) the Corporal has some authority (usually, in the Engineers at least, you see Corporals when squads need team leaders but can't get guys off to PLDC so they can make E-5). It was different in World War II; a lot of field promotions and stuff; there wasn't time to send people back to a 2-week school in order for them to gain rank.

In the 60s, there was more than one Specialist rank. There was specialist E-4, E-5, and E-6, marked by the same insignia but with upside-down rockers on top of it.

Navy Officer Ranks are as follows:

O-1: Ensign
O-2: Lieutenant Junior Grade (JG)
O-3: Lieutenant
O-4: Lieutenant Commander
O-5: Commander
O-6: Captain
O-7: Commodore (the Navy is off and on with this one; nowadays they just skip it)
O-8: Rear Admiral (compose your own jokes)
O-9: Vice Admiral
O-10: Admiral (equivalent to four star general)
O-11: Admiral of the Fleet (five stars, not awarded currently)

I'm patently unfamilliar with Navy enlisted rank. Often they're addressed by their job title instead of their pay grade. (I.E., Machinist's Mate, Gunner's Mate, etc.)

USAF and USMC officer rank is the same as the Army's. USAF enlisted rank has changed a lot; it used to be Airman 3rd class, 2nd class, etc. Nowadays...I'm not sure. They have, if I recall correctly, eliminated the three-stripe rank (E-5, buck sergeant) and replaced it with "senior airman" or some such.

I'm hazy on USMC enlisted rank too. US Coast Guard is the same as the Navy.

You want to talk about a confusing rank structure, though, go look up information on the chain of command in the old Soviet Military. :uhoh:
 
While majors outrank lieutenants, lieutenant generals outrank major generals. This comes from British tradition: Generals were appointed for campaigns and often called "captain generals." Their assistants were, naturally, "lieutenant generals." At the same time, the chief administrative officer was the "sergeant major general." Somewhere along the way, "sergeant" was dropped.
Click to expand...
More at:

http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/blrankhistory.htm

Nobody's done Navy or Marine Corps ranks yet?
  • Seaman Recruit (E1) - no rank insignia
    Seaman Apprentice - two diagonal stripes
    Seaman - three diagonal stripes
    Petty Officer Third Class - one chevron (point down) with an eagle above
    Petty Officer Second Class - two chevrons with an eagle above
    Petty Officer First Class - three chevrons with an eagle above
    Chief Petty Officer - three chevrons with one round "rocker" connecting the chevron's points, with an eagle above
    Senior Chief Petty Officer - three chevrons, one rocker, with one white star below the eagle.
    Master Chief Petty Officer - three chevrons, one rocker, with two white stars below the eagle.

    Ensign (O1) - one gold bar (butter bar)
    Lt. Junion Grade - one silver bar
    Lt. - two silver bars
    Lt. Commander - gold oakleaf
    Commander - silver oakleaf
    Captain - silver eagle
    Rear Admiral (lower half) - one silver star
    Rear Admiral (upper half) - two silver stars
    Vice Admiral - three silver stars
    Admiral - four silver stars
    Fleet Admiral - five silver stars
 
And to further stir the pot, why does silver outrank gold in US military usage?Gold bar for Second Lieutenant, silver bar of First Lieutenant. I think I used to know that & forgot........
 
"Seaman Recruit (E1) - no rank insignia
Seaman Apprentice (E2) - two diagonal stripes
Seaman (E3) - three diagonal stripes
Petty Officer Third Class (E4) - one chevron (point down) with an eagle above
Petty Officer Second Class (E5) - two chevrons with an eagle above
Petty Officer First Class (E6) - three chevrons with an eagle above
Chief Petty Officer (E7) - three chevrons with one round "rocker" connecting the chevron's points, with an eagle above
Senior Chief Petty Officer (E8) - three chevrons, one rocker, with one white star below the eagle.
Master Chief Petty Officer (E9) - three chevrons, one rocker, with two white stars below the eagle"

In the Navy, the term "Petty Officer" is used to describe those personnel in the E-4/E-5/E-6 ranks: So it is proper to address a Third Class PO, Second Class PO or First Class PO as simply "Petty Officer Smith"

These are the guys that you see wearing the dungaree work uniforms and the "crackerjack" dress uniforms:

When you get into the "Chief" ranks however, this doesn't hold true. The CPO rank structure is differentiated from the lower enlisted ranks in that E-7 thru E-9's wear khaki work uniforms

God forbid you refer to an E-9 Master Chief as simply "Chief"

In the Navy, all enlisted personnel have "ratings" - similiar to the MOS of the Army.

BM - Boatswain's Mate
MM - Machinist Mate
QM - Quartermaster
PR - Aircrew Survival Equipmentman (formerly Parachute Rigger)
MA - Master At Arms

This is followed by their rank,

So A Boatswain's Mate First Class would be written as BM1
A Third Class Quartermaster would be written as QM3
A Chief Aircrew Survival Equipmentman would be a PRC

Confused yet?

Also, the "unofficial" creed of the Chief Petty Officer is:

"I am a Chief Petty Officer in the United States Navy

I do not drink

If I do drink, I will not get drunk

If I do get drunk, I will not fall down

If I do fall down I will do so face first, hiding my collar insignia so that passersby will think that I am an Ensign

:D
Mark PRC USN (Ret)
 
Why is everyone forgetting the forgettable Lance Corporal stuck between Private First Class and Corporal.

One strip with a rocker for Army
One strip with the red field below for Marines
 
There are no Lance Corporals in the Army. I don't know that there ever have been.

-No Stripe: E-1: Private: PVT
-One Stripe: E-2: Private: PV2
-One Stripe, One Rocker: Private First Class: PFC
-Upside Down Teardrop-Thingy with Eagle: E-4: Specialist: SPC
-Two Stripes: E-4: Corporal: CPL
 
During the Viet-Nam era I ran across several soldiers at Fort Knox that had the One Stipe One Rocker insignia at the Enlisted Men's Club. When i asked what that rank was I was told, "LANCE CORPORAL SIR!".
Those armored guys called everyone sir.
Someone said they did the job of a Corporal with none of the authority.
Corporals have authority?
IIRC back then a PFC was the single stripe and "Buck" Privates and Privares had no stripes.



As for me, I'll salute anyone wearing the uniform.


By the way does the US Army still have the rank of Sgt Major?
 
Yep the Army still has Sgt. Major and Command Sgt. Major (E-9), that is unless something drastically changed and I missed it in the two years since I got out :D
 
This stuff changes regularly "for the convenience of the government." Last I heard Army rifle squads were 12 men, not 9. Squad at full strength being composed of 2 four rifleman fire teams, the squad leader, radio operator, and a two man light machinegun crew. Regiment comes before brigade in smaller to larger size ranking. A regiment is generally organized as 12 companies if infantry, or troops if cav. Commander is a bird colonel, not a brigadier general. Brigadiers command brigades, hence the term. A brigade is not so much a unit by itself, but rather a headquarters element for command and control of roughly 1/3 of the combat power of a division. Thus 3 brigades make a division, commanded by a major general. A corps, like a brigade, is not so much a unit of its own but rather a headquarters to administer assigned units, which would be a grouping of 2 to 5 divisions in the case of a corps. Two to five corps comprise an Army Group. BUT ALL ONE REALLY NEEDS TO KNOW IS CAN THEY RELY ON THE GUY NEXT TO THEM? Everything else is pretty insignificant and above the concern of most folks' pay grade. All of this crap is just on paper in an ideal world. A rifle company in combat may be so depleted by casualties that although a company on paper, it actually fields less men than a full strength platoon, with its platoons actually being understrength squads.
 
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